We’d all like the school holidays to be a magical time with our kids, but it can so easily turn into a cycle of nagging them to do the exact same basic things every day and a battle to drag them away from screens.
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What’s The Answer For Avoiding School Holiday Squabbles?
It’s simple – a chore chart or task list, whatever you call it is up to you. By giving your child a list to tick off for things that they are expected to do each day, it gives them ownership of their time and will inevitably mean less nagging from you.
Here is how to use school holiday chore charts to make time at home with your kids over the holidays easier & to reduce your kid’s screen time.
Chore Chart Before Free Time
Explain to your children that they can have as much free time as they like – as soon as their chore charts are complete. I suggest that you also agree on a set amount of daily screen time allowance together that can be used up only once their chore charts are complete.
This way when your child asks if they can have free time or screen time, you simply have to ask “is your chart complete” rather than dredging though a long list of “have you done”s.
What Should Go On The Chore Chart?
What you put on your child’s chore chart depends entirely upon your child’s age, your family dynamics and what you find yourself nagging them about most.
Grab your printable chore charts below. There are options to print the charts with my suggested chores on them, or blank versions to complete yourself.
Personally, I have included the self-care basics on our charts, including getting dressed, brushing hair and teeth, tidying their own rooms and making their beds. My kids are expected to put dirty laundry in the dirty laundry hamper and to put away their own clean clothes that come out of the wash, so these tasks are on there too.
Although we are not doing any structured learning over the school holidays, I like them to keep their minds engaged, so I have included reading and maths games on their chore charts. The maths games are apps set by the school, so will not “eat into” their screen time allowance as they are an educational activity. Check out my Educational Apps For Kids post for some suggestions for brilliant educational apps for kids.
I have also included a “help someone” task (which can be something of their own choosing or something I ask them to do) and a “do something creative” task (for example, drawing, crafts, building LEGO etc).
Frames
I use these A4 frames for the chore charts. They can be stood on a desk, easily moved around the house or attached to the wall with command strips.
White Board Pens
With these pens, you can write directly on the frames over the printables, making them reusable.
Magic Erasers
Magic erasers are great for so many jobs around the home. They are the ideal way to clean the whiteboard pen easily off the frames of your chore charts in order to reuse them every week.
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The Ultimate Mum Bundle includes the Chore Chart printables, plus loads more essential printables for organising your busy life.
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